Letting Go
by ThousandYearsOfAwkward
Summary: AC (alternate continuity) After fighting Sasuke and bringing him back to Konoha, Naruto discovers that he still has some unfinished business and has to make a deadly choice. Lots of violence and a little swearing. NaruGaa / GaaNaru ... But more of a bromance than actual pairing in this fic.
1. Chapter 1: Unwillingness to Change

Chapter 1

Unwillingness to Change

Even though Naruto had finally convinced Sasuke to come back to Konohagakure, things weren't exactly back to the "good old days." Most of the Konoha chuunin who were once friends with Sasuke tried hard not to hold a grudge, but they couldn't quite forgive him for everything he'd done, and what he'd done to Naruto in particular. They all tried to be nice and accepting towards their former comrade, but after a while of receiving the cold shoulder from him, they grew resentful.

Naruto was of course elated to have his best friend back home, but even _he_ was able to notice how different Sasuke had become in the years he'd been consumed with hatred and revenge. Even so, the blonde was still convinced that if Sasuke could change so drastically in a negative way, than he could also change back and become "good" again.

But Sasuke made no attempts to connect with anyone, and he sent glares in all directions. Also, thanks to some of his rude and cold comments, there had been several fights between him and some of Naruto's more short-fused friends.

Naruto and Sakura always had to hurry to break up the fights before they got out of hand. The tension continued to rise, but Naruto continued to try and pretend that nothing was wrong. It was at Naruto's nineteenth birthday party that the growing strain with Sasuke became a prominent issue.

It happened about an hour after Naruto's birthday party ended, when everyone had started to head home. It had been a surprise party; Sakura led Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen, where everyone had been waiting for them. Naruto had laughed upon arriving; seeing everyone wearing casual clothes was so new to him.

During the party, Sasuke had kept to himself, and he was one of the first to leave, saying that he had to "get ready," but when Naruto asked what he was getting ready for, he refused to explain, sending some insult in his direction. Naruto pouted visibly, but he assumed that his friend was just teasing, like he did when they were young genin.

"Thank you guys so much for coming," Naruto said, beaming. He was standing next to Sakura and Shikamaru, and speaking to Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara, whom had come all the way from Sunagakure to celebrate Naruto's birthday at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

"It was no problem," Kankuro responded, "But I guess Gaara will just have a lot work to do when he gets home," he finished, laughing a little.

"It was nice to see you all again," Gaara murmured, remembering how it had been almost a year since the last time he was actually in Konoha. His voice was blank, but his expression looked sincere; he smiled just the slightest bit. Naruto nodded, blushing slightly from the embarrassment of being under Gaara's stare so long, and he laughed nervously in response.

"We'll see you in the morning, then, before we leave," Temari said, giving Shikamaru an inviting look. Kankuro and Gaara exchanged glances.

"Yeah, I guess you will," Shikamaru said, smiling at her a little bit. Naruto grinned suggestively, but Sakura covered his mouth before he could say something inappropriate.

Within a few minutes, Naruto and Sakura were left alone to clean up what was left of the mess from the party. They were grateful that the others had stayed a little late after the party to help clean up; it only took the two of them just under ten minutes to finish cleaning up the mess and pack up Naruto's presents to bring back to his apartment.

Naruto and Sakura exited cheerfully, but stopped when they heard murmurs coming from down the street and around the corner. The voices both seemed familiar – and obviously male – but they couldn't quite figure out who they belonged to. But the two of them assumed that it was two of their friends, chatting, maybe saying goodbye. But the murmurs turned into sounds of a disagreement, and then quickly shifted to loud arguing. At first they continued walking, knowing that it wasn't really their place to step in, but when they heard threatening shouts, they both dropped the presents and ran to see what was going on. They sprinted towards the source of the argument, which was all the way at the gate to the village.

Naruto bolted ahead of Sakura when to his surprise, he heard someone mention his name in the midst of the argument. He saw two figures ahead of him, and he ducked behind the corner of a building to remain hidden. He peered around the corner to see what was going on, and his jaw dropped; the first thing he saw that demanded his attention was Sasuke, standing at the gate with his hand on his hip. He had a huge black duffel bag slung over his left shoulder, looking like he was ready to leave for somewhere. He looked cold, but also tense and alert; his sharingan was activated, and he looked ready to fight.

Naruto's heart sank, and he froze, "S-Sasuke?" he called, but his voice was too quiet and weak with fear for Sasuke to hear him. Sakura was at his side by then, and she too froze in shock.

"Sasuke…" Sakura murmured almost inaudibly. She noticed the bag over his shoulder, and she frantically turned to face Naruto, "Where's he going?" she asked him in a panicked whisper. She started fidgeting with her red spaghetti-straps.

"How should I know?" Naruto whispered back. He had a comedic expression on his face, but deep down he was just as worried as she was.

They were pretty quiet, and remained mostly unseen, but Sasuke was fully aware of their presence. He didn't acknowledge them, though, and stayed staring straight in front of him. Naruto and Sakura followed his gaze, and Naruto swore under his breath.

Standing about five meters away from Sasuke was Gaara, whose siblings had already left for their hotel, assuming that Gaara would meet up with them later. He held his arms by his sides with his hands clenched in fists, and his shoulders were near his ears. His entire body was tense. He had this expression on his face that looked – to Naruto at least – like controlled fury, like he was struggling to restrain himself.

Sasuke took his hand off his hip, bent his knees, and leaned forward slightly, all at the same time. He let the duffel bag slide down his arm and hit the ground beside him with a soft thud. The movements were all small and controlled, but they were enough to make Gaara tense up even further and shift into a defensive stance. He didn't have his gourd with him, but with a slight flick of his right hand, sand stirred around his ankles, ready to defend him if necessary. He made sure to watch Sasuke's movements carefully, but not look at him directly in the eyes.

Naruto had known what was about to happen all along, but it was only then that the reality of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks, snapping him to his senses, "N-No! Don't!" he called out to them in a loud and panicked tone, "No! Please! Gaara… Sasuke…" Naruto's voice trailed off as he noticed that neither of them was looking at him. They didn't even flinch. But he wasn't about to give up yet, "Please… Don't fight…" he begged, but his voice grew softer with defeat and fear. Sakura stood beside him, still frozen into silence.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called again, but Sasuke ignored him, not having looked at him even for a moment since they had arrived and interrupted. Naruto started to tear up a little, but he took a step forward, and out into the open, "Gaara?" he called out, turning to face the said redhead. Gaara hesitated, but then he slowly turned his head towards Naruto, still keeping his fighting stance.

"Please Gaara…" Naruto murmured, giving Gaara a pleading look; he knew that Gaara was probably the more likely of the two to hear him out, "Please stop… Don't do this…"

Gaara hesitated again, but after a long moment, he lowered his arms in compliance and turned his body to face Naruto completely. Naruto let out a sigh of relief. He glanced over at Sasuke, but Sasuke still appeared ready to fight, with that same icy and superior look on his face. Naruto felt his stomach twist with anxiety.

"He causes you so much pain," Gaara confirmed in a defeated tone, motioning at Naruto's hurt and guilty expression.

Naruto flinched; he remembered how both Sai and Shikamaru had told him that not too long ago, and how they both told him that all his friends held negative feelings towards Sasuke, whether they felt comfortable showing it or not. It wasn't fair, Naruto had constantly thought to himself; they weren't seeing the side of Sasuke he'd come to know and love. He kept saying how they were making unfair judgments and that they needed to be more patient.

Naruto's chest suddenly hurt; he clawed at his T-shirt with his right hand, feeling his heart race. He met Gaara's eyes again and finally realized that the main reason why his friends couldn't forgive Sasuke wasn't because of the bad things he'd done, but because of the irreversible emotional damage that the Uchiha had inflicted on both Naruto and Sakura; they cared about them too much to be able to forgive Sasuke. Naruto didn't know what to feel other than pain and guilt.

"I was trying to stop him… From leaving again…" Gaara continued cautiously, and Naruto and Sakura both stared at Sasuke's duffel bag with a frown.

Sakura's heart sank; she had assumed that Sasuke had been trying to leave, but actually hearing it being confirmed out loud stung badly.

"And as I already said, it's not your place to interfere," Sasuke cut in, glaring coldly at the redhead.

But Gaara continued as if he hadn't heard him, "I didn't want you to have to go through the pain of losing him again… You're happiest when he's with you…" There was this sadness in Gaara's tone that Naruto couldn't figure out, but Sakura bit her lip, recognizing the hint of jealousy in his voice.

"And you've sacrificed so much for him… You still do…" Gaara's voice and expression suddenly changed to defensive and angry, to the point where he was barely in control; Naruto and Sakura both flinched, "But he doesn't even give a shit about you!" Gaara paused, trying to regain control over his emotions, "And I know that deep down you're aware of that fact… But you still care about him… More than anything else... Even after everything he's done… Everything he's _still doing_ to you…" he added, sending an angry glance in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke sent it right back, unaffected by Gaara's words.

Gaara paused again, trying to decide if he should continue or not. He held his head down and stared at the ground, "But you insisted that he was different, and I believed you. I kept thinking things were going to change… That he was going to change… But I was obviously wrong. You can't save someone that doesn't want to be saved… The Sasuke you knew is long gone, Naruto… And he's not coming back. You… Need to accept that, like the rest of us have. I think even Sakura has, by now…"

Sakura bit her lip, quickly looked down, and starting fidgeting with the bottom of her dress before they could catch her starting to cry, with a pathetic expression on her face.

"Sakura…?" Naruto choked out, feeling almost betrayed, even though none of it was her fault.

"The fact is… He doesn't deserve to have a friend like you, Naruto," Gaara spat out coldly, and tears stung the corners of his eyes. Sakura could tell that it took a lot for him to actually come out and say something like that.

Sasuke kept the same icy expression on his face, but Naruto was offended enough for the both of them. He took a deep breath, trying to control his temper, but it was no use. He lashed out at him, "You know what? You are such a fucking hypocrite! I-I can't even stand it!" Naruto's tone turned darker, "How does someone like _you_-" Gaara flinched visibly at the sudden change in Naruto's demeanor, "- Have the right to judge anyone?"

Gaara froze, with this stunned expression like he'd just been slapped across the face. Sakura's frown deepened; she knew that the only person who could possibly hurt Gaara that badly was Naruto, and he'd gone and done just that.

Sakura put her hand on Naruto's shoulder, trying to calm him down, "Naruto, please-"

Naruto shook her off, "No… No! I'm allowed to be fucking angry, I think! I'm sick and tired of people judging Sasuke so much! Like… Like they're somehow superior to him! And they're not! Especially not _you_!" Naruto took a few steps forward, causing Gaara to take a step back in defense, "You're all wrong about him! You're wrong! You're wrong!" Naruto was in tears at this point, "Everyone pretends they're trying to 'help,' when really all they're doing is making it worse! And Gaara, I expected that _you_ of all people would understand this!"

Another slap in the face, "Naruto… I was just-"

"You were 'just' what? It's none of your business, anyway! Why do you even care?"

"Because… Because you're my best friend, Naruto…" Gaara murmured, still looking at the ground; he couldn't look at Naruto when he was that angry with him.

"I… I am?" Naruto questioned almost inaudibly. He froze in place and bit his lip; it was hard for him to stay angry with Gaara when he said meaningful things like that, especially because he tended to be awkwardly straightforward about it.

"And… I guess I'm just… I'm a little jealous… The way you talk to him… Even the way you look at him… That smile… You don't smile like that for anyone else…"

Sakura looked sympathetic, and Naruto looked like he was going to short-circuit from all this new and unexpected information spilling from Gaara, "I… _What_?"

Gaara continued, "But you let him walk all over you. It hurts to watch," he said, and he absently clawed at the cloth of his jacket around his chest and neck, "I just wish you'd care less about _him_ and more about the people… who actually care about you…" he lifted his head up to make eye contact with the blonde, "Like… Like me…" he mouthed silently.

The moment those words slipped out of his mouth, Gaara realized he'd just made a huge mistake. He quickly looked down, unable to meet Naruto's gaze, "I'm sorry…" he murmured.

Naruto covered his mouth to hide the fact that his jaw had dropped and his lower lip had started to tremble, "Gaara…" he murmured with realization.

Gaara took a deep breath and continued, "But I'm starting to think… That rather than _you_ changing Sasuke… _Sasuke's_ changing _you_… I don't want you to ever change, Naruto… I don't think any of your friends do. I don't want to lose you … But…" he recomposed himself, "But if you want to let someone like him keep hurting you, and keep taking advantage of your emotions… Fine," he continued, wearing a hurt expression on his face. He nodded to himself, "And if you don't want me to interfere… I won't…" he murmured, "I thought I was doing the right thing, but I'll back off…" he finally looked up, meeting Naruto's stare with a pleading expression, "I'm sorry, Naruto… I'm really sorry."

Naruto was hurt by the things Gaara said – and truly believed – but he still let out a breath he'd been holding. He smiled weakly as he sighed with relief, "Thank you," he said softly and sincerely, just grateful that Gaara wasn't going to pursue the issue with Sasuke any further. Gaara lifted his head and forced a weak smile in response.

"Umm… Naruto…?"

"Yeah?"

"I… I hope you don't hate me for saying this so suddenly, but I feel like I need to say it…"

"Why would I-" Naruto started.

But Gaara didn't pause for him; he was too busy trying to find the courage to say what was really on his mind, "The truth is… That I…" his cheeks flushed just the slightest bit, but enough for Naruto to notice, and Gaara looked back down at the ground in embarrassment. Naruto's face flushed, too, as he tried to guess what was coming next. He had never seen Gaara look like that before. Gaara lifted his head back up and took a deep breath, "I guess I don't really know how to put this, but… Naruto, I-"

There was a flash of bright light and a loud screeching sound, and before either of them could react, Gaara was sent flying backwards at speed human eyes just couldn't match. He almost slammed into the wall of a nearby building; his sand was barely able to stop his momentum. And before he could even fall to the ground, Sasuke appeared directly in front of him and hit him with another close-ranged chidori. Gaara yelled in pain and his body crumpled to the ground. Blood drained from his chest at a fast rate, making a crimson puddle around him.

Naruto couldn't even believe what he was seeing, "S-Sasuke, no! Stop!" he sputtered. He wanted to run in between them, but he couldn't get his legs to cooperate.

Sasuke suddenly jumped backwards, his sharingan narrowly detecting Gaara's counterattack in time for him to dodge it. While Sasuke was still in midair, sand rose up behind him and wrapped around his right ankle, which was crushed as the same sand hurled him face-first into the ground. Sasuke bit his lip until it bled a little to avoid screaming out in pain, but a pained groan still managed to escape his throat. He barely managed to get out of there before Gaara could do any more damage.

Gaara was kneeling and sitting on his heels. He leaned forward slightly, putting his hands on the ground to hold up his weight. He was bleeding profusely and experiencing intense pain, to the point where it was hard for him just to stay conscious. He had been holding back before, attacking Sasuke mostly just to get a safe distance between them again, but also trying to immobilize him. But from the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto looking like he was about to cry, not able to pick either of his friends' sides in the fight. Sakura was trying to comfort him, even though she was even more emotionally unstable than he was.

Gaara hesitated, which gave Sasuke another opening. He used amaterasu, but Gaara's sand managed to block it in time, even though it actually took a lot of effort and chakra on Gaara's part, since the automatic shield on its own wouldn't have been enough.

While Gaara was preoccupied with amaterasu, Sasuke darted into the small space between Gaara and his sand, and before he could react, Sasuke hit him with another chidori. Before his sand could stop his momentum, his head slammed against the building wall behind him. Still on his knees, he leaned forward and coughed up blood.

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted, barely able to see what was happening from his position.

Gaara looked up, realizing that Sasuke had suddenly stopped attacking. They locked eyes for an instant before Gaara remembered Sasuke's sharingan, quickly shut his eyes, and looked away. But that instant was more than enough time for Sasuke to trap him in a genjutsu.

Gaara's eyes opened after a few seconds in real time, due to Sasuke needing to conserve his remaining chakra. Tears immediately spilled from Gaara's eyes. He sat there frozen in fear and shock from how real the genjutsu felt to him. He wrapped his arms around himself protectively, shaking violently.

"G-Gaara?" Naruto called out with concern, noticing the suddenly vulnerable expression Gaara was wearing. Gaara didn't dare look back; he couldn't let Naruto see him like that. He looked down at Sasuke's feet silently, noticing that Sasuke's right ankle was still bleeding heavily from his attack.

"Karma's a bitch, isn't it, Gaara?" Sasuke said smugly as he created a lance purely made of chakra, "I've wanted to do this for a _long_ time," he hissed as he thrust the chakra lance into Gaara's stomach and through his back, easily piercing through his sand on the way. Gaara winced slightly, but he managed to stifle a gasp.

Sasuke's previous question was obviously rhetorical, but Gaara decided to answer anyways, "It certainly is…" he said, with his face and body almost completely covered in blood. He was using every ounce of strength he had left to speak, "It's too bad… I won't be around to see you get yours…" he finished, smiling weakly through his physical and emotional pain. Blood pooled in his mouth and he spit it at Sasuke's feet.

Sasuke twitched with anger and twisted the chakra lance in Gaara's stomach, and the latter cringed in pain. The lance then disappeared, leaving Sasuke unarmed. Gaara glanced over at Naruto, who was staring helplessly at him and Sasuke, crying silently.

"Gaara…" Naruto murmured inaudibly; his body was still frozen in shock.

"I'm… sorry… Naruto…" Gaara murmured, and since all had fallen silent except for his voice, Naruto was actually able to hear him.

"No…" Naruto choked out pathetically, as if in denial of the image in front of him.

"Oh no… Sasuke… You've really…" Sakura murmured to herself, unable to finish. She glanced over at Naruto with a horrified expression on her face, remembering how Gaara had once hurt and almost killed Sasuke. She knew that Sasuke had spent most of his life bent on revenge towards all who opposed him and his family, but she had no idea that he still held a grudge against Gaara, all those years later. She realized that there was no talking Sasuke out of it; once he got an idea in his head, it was almost impossible to change his mind.

Naruto mentally caught up with her, thinking the same exact thing she was, "Sasuke… No…" Naruto whispered, unable to raise his voice.

"Chidori," Sasuke muttered so softly that Naruto read his lips rather than heard it. The bright light hit Gaara with incredible speed and power. The horrible screeching noise filled Gaara's ears, and his body shook violently, refusing to tolerate the pain of Sasuke's onslaught any longer. His whole body fell numb, and he tilted his head slightly, seeing Naruto's terrified expression one last time before blackness filled his vision. His breathless body crumpled to the ground, where he stayed completely motionless.


	2. Chapter 2: Protect

Chapter 2  
>Protect<p>

There was a long pause as the brutal situation sunk in. No one moved a muscle, and all fell silent. Sasuke took a step back and deactivated his chidori, knowing that it was just a waste of chakra to keep his guard up for no one in particular. Gaara was out of the picture, so he knew he wasn't in any immediate danger.

Sakura suddenly started to run, and Naruto was snapped out of his funk when she started pulling on his arm and dragging him along. They headed towards Gaara to try and help him, but Sasuke's long-ranged chidori hit the ground just inches in front of Naruto, like some kind of a warning shot.

Naruto snapped his head to look at Sasuke, staring directly into his blood red eyes. Naruto was beyond the point of fearing Sasuke's genjutsu. His expression kept switching between desperation, fear, and anger, like he couldn't decide which emotion was best.

"Sasuke…" Sakura murmured in both frustration and fear. She grabbed Naruto's hand and squeezed it for comfort.

"Don't interfere. He deserves to die alone," Sasuke murmured in an icy voice. He still kept his sharingan activated and his sword drawn and ready, standing beside Gaara's mangled and lifeless-looking body.

Naruto was barely able to control his sadness and fury building up inside him, and he only managed to contain it because of the fact that Sasuke was still his best friend and he couldn't let go of him. Even after years of seeing Sasuke sink lower and lower into the darkness, he could never find the heart to stop him once and for all. Even after seeing and hearing friend after friend tell him that Sasuke was a lost cause. He had kept telling himself that he knew Sasuke better than anyone and that they didn't know what they were talking about. He convinced himself that it was only a matter of time and patience, and that the "real" Sasuke would return soon.

Naruto had his hands clenched in fists by his sides, "Sasuke… You…" he had trouble finding the words to say, "But… Why?"

"_Why_?" Sasuke repeated in the same icy tone. He paused and smirked slightly, "Why…? I'll tell you why. Have you forgotten everything he did; everything he's done, particularly to you and me? I was doing us all a favor-"

Naruto tried his best not to short circuit again like he had done before with Gaara, "What? You… You mean what happened seven years ago? That was such a long time ago, Sasuke! He's changed so much since then! Hell, I've even lost track of how many times he's apologized to all of us and tried to _'repay his debt'_ to us! We even went on stupid missions together, and you two seemed fine! Remember? Just let it go already!" He felt Kyuubi's chakra stirring deep inside him, like a growing fire, the half of the fox he hasn't learned to control.

"People don't change, Naruto."

"They certainly do!" Naruto countered angrily, "That would explain how you've become such an asshole… A hypocrite and constantly consumed with revenge! But then again, maybe you're right… Maybe you've always been that way," he corrected in a mocking tone, "Besides… Who are you to talk about what he deserves? Have you forgotten everything _you_ did? What you've _been_ doing? What you're _still_ doing?" Naruto felt an odd pang of guilt in his stomach, realizing how quick he was to change from Sasuke's side to Gaara's, and saying similar things to both of them.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in anger and annoyance, but not in the rival-like way that Naruto had once enjoyed. The blonde flinched slightly at the pure rage in Sasuke's expression.

While this argument had been going on, Sakura had subtly inched closer and closer to Gaara's mangled body. He had fallen face-first, so she gently rolled him over onto his back. She had to try hard not to gag; he had lost so much blood. She gently unzipped his jacket to check the severity of his injuries.

Then skin on Gaara's chest and stomach was ripped apart and still bleeding profusely. His face was also covered in blood from hitting his head against the wall and bleeding from his mouth. But she let out her breath that she'd been holding as she realized he was still alive, even if only barely. She had become the best medic in Konoha, and one of the best in all of the Five Great Shinobi Nations; if anyone could save him, it would be her.

Sakura shuddered slightly, but then she pulled her hair back into a high and messy bun. She got started quickly, multitasking. She started sealing up Gaara's head wound first with her right hand and started healing his torso wounds with her left. She managed to stop most of the bleeding quickly, and she realized that if she had taken any longer to get to him, he wouldn't have made it.

While she worked, Gaara's eyes slowly opened. She paused from healing his wounds when she heard him stirring, "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"I think so…" Gaara responded in a tired voice. He paused for a moment, and then suddenly tried to sit up, looking a little worried, "Where's Naruto…? Is he okay?"

"Whoa! Not so fast! Lay down. You're in no condition to be moving yet."

"Is he okay?" Gaara repeated impatiently, reluctantly lying back down as Sakura started pushing him down herself.

Sakura frowned; even in his horrible condition, Gaara was still worrying about Naruto. She smiled slightly to herself, finally realizing what Gaara had been trying to say to Naruto earlier, just before Sasuke attacked him.

Sakura knew that Naruto was still okay, but she glanced over her shoulder to where he and Sasuke were still arguing just out of earshot. He was crying and fuming, and Sasuke was saying something with that same icy expression he'd been wearing the whole time. He still seemed to be enjoying the spectacle of it all, and the feeling that he was superior to anyone who opposed him.

"_Physically_, yes…" Sakura murmured, frowning and fidgeting uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry…" Gaara choked out, guessing correctly that Naruto was still really emotionally hurt and upset over him and Sasuke.

"No… It's not your fault, Gaara." Sakura reassured him as she continued to heal his wounds up, "This… This was bound to happen sometime…" she said gravely, "I'm… I'm just glad you're okay…"

She had managed to stop most of the bleeding by then, "You're really… good at this…" Gaara commented weakly, smiling a little as she relieved more and more of his pain.

"Thanks," she said, smiling, and for a moment, she was able to forget the severity of the situation they were in, " Now… You can't do too much for the next… two to three weeks. If you move too much, the wounds will open back up, which will just make it worse."

"Is it… really that bad?" Gaara asked in a strained voice.

"You're lucky to be alive, actually," Sakura replied with a smile, "To be frank, I didn't think you were going to make it at first."

"Thanks… For saving me…"

There was a long pause, because for whatever reason, Sakura wasn't ready for the suddenly vulnerable expression on Gaara's face when he said that to her, "Oh, it's no problem, Gaara," Sakura murmured, smiling sincerely. Her face turned bright red, but she tried to ignore it, hoping that Gaara was anything close to as oblivious as Naruto is around women. She helped him sit up, warning him to be careful. She wrapped her arm around him and had him lean against her side for support. But he quickly pushed away from her, trying to hold himself up.

"Sakura, I'm fine… You don't have to-"

"It's either this, or you have to stay lying down," Sakura threatened, pulling him back to her side. Gaara sighed, feeling guilty and humiliated, but he leaned back and let her hold some of his weight up so she'd stop pestering him.

He shuddered against her hand on his nearly bare back, "You're really cold," he stated blankly. Sakura's face flushed bright red again as she suddenly remembered he was only wearing a fishnet shirt.

Gaara started glancing around the area, looking a little confused, "Hey, where's my-?"

"Oh… Here," Sakura muttered, practically shoving his tattered red and black jacket in his face. She was still flustered, and she couldn't look him in the eyes yet. She felt a sudden wave of shame as she chastised herself getting embarrassed about Gaara's lack of clothes instead of paying attention to Naruto and Sasuke.

They both tuned back into Naruto and Sasuke's argument, straining to hear what was being said. But as they did, Naruto and Sasuke both grew quiet as they both noticed Gaara's suddenly improved state. It took a moment for it to register in their minds that Gaara was actually okay.

"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, smiling with relief, "You're all right!" he stated the obvious. Gaara smiled weakly in response, knowing that he didn't have the energy to do much more than that. He was just relieved to see a glimmer of Naruto's usual persona, even in such a stressful situation.

Sasuke glared at Gaara, and Naruto's whole body tensed up, ready to defend Gaara if needed. But Sasuke looked away from the redhead and turned his ferocious gaze back to Naruto, "Why? Why do you care about him so much?"

Naruto's voice grew quiet, and his expression suddenly looked sincere, "Because… He's one of my best friends…." Gaara and Sakura both smiled a little, "Like you _are_…" Naruto added almost silently, unable to look Sasuke in the eyes. Sakura noticed that he used "are" instead of "were" and frowned in sympathy. Naruto still hadn't given up on Sasuke yet.

"Interesting…" Sasuke said to himself, but it was loud enough for the others to hear him. He smirked slightly, suddenly getting an idea, "And it seems that after the initial shock, you get much stronger after your 'friends' have been hurt by the enemy, correct? You get stronger when your 'best friends' are in danger, right? Does it still work like that? Just like when we were kids?"

"What are you saying?" Naruto dared to ask, sounding a little nervous.

"We need to leave," Gaara whispered to Sakura, already knowing what was coming next, "Now," he pressed with a little more urgency, trying to get her to move. But by the time she realized why he wanted to get her out of there, it was too late.

Sasuke pulled out his blade from behind his back and held it out in front of him. Naruto's eyes followed to where the shiny tip was pointed, at Sakura and Gaara, "Wait… No… Sasuke… You're…" he finally got a hold of himself to get out a complete sentence, "You're not my enemy, Sasuke…" He said carefully, trying to contradict Sasuke's theory.

"But they _are_ your friends, right?"

"Y-You're not seriously-" Naruto stammered, looking at Sakura, who looked like she was going to start tearing up again, "Sasuke…" Naruto pleaded, exchanging terrified glances with Sakura. He thought about her getting dragged into the fight, and how she'd probably get hurt badly, unable to defend herself from Sasuke. Then he looked at Gaara, who looked a lot better than before, but still in really bad condition.

_'No… I'm not about to let them get hurt because of me…'_ Naruto thought, feeling his blood boil inside him as he pictured them in pain again. Kyuubi's chakra coursed through his body and he could feel its heat radiating around him, "If you hurt them…"

"You'll do what?" Sasuke egged him on, "You'll stand there and watch, like you did just minutes ago? You talk a whole lot, but I've yet to see you actually do anything."

Naruto obviously didn't need to be reminded. He still felt guilty about watching Gaara get beaten to a pulp by Sasuke, when he knew he could have done something to help. But his rage far outweighed his guilt by that point, "If you hurt them… I swear… I won't hold back!" He threatened. Kyuubi's chakra swirled around him like an evil orange-red aura.

Sasuke smirked at this sudden challenge from Naruto. He knew exactly what he was getting into, and welcomed it, "Now that's more like it," he said, taking a slight step towards Sakura and Gaara. He disappeared suddenly, to everyone's alarm.

"No!" Naruto roared, realizing that Sasuke wasn't going to hold back either, even against Sakura, "Sakura-chan!" he because he had hesitated.

Gaara saw the panic and frustration in Naruto's eyes, and he painfully forced himself to his feet. He pushed Sakura out of the way right as Sasuke appeared inches in front of them. Sasuke's blade nicked Gaara's right arm, but that was nothing in comparison to what he had already been through. He then pulled Sakura backwards and they jumped away to put some distance between them and Sasuke again.

But Sasuke didn't waste any time. Gaara was trying to ask Sakura if she was all right; she looked so scared and he wasn't sure if she'd made it out of there unscathed or not. Sasuke appeared right behind Gaara and stabbed him, tearing through his attempts at a sand defense. The sword entered through Gaara's back and went completely through his torso, right where he had been pierced earlier.

Sakura stared at the bloody tip of the sword, which was poking out through Gaara's chest and just inches away from her face, "You…" Sakura started, but she was in too much shock to finish. The sudden screeching noise from Sasuke's sword would have interrupted her anyways.

Gaara yelled in pain from another chidori onslaught, but Sakura's blood curdling scream easily drowned him out. Sasuke yanked his sword away from them and jumped away. Sakura fell unconscious from the overwhelming pain and collapsed into Gaara's chest, and he fell backwards and blacked out, too exhausted to support her.

Naruto's whole body began to tremble, and Kyuubi's chakra started to consume him. He felt himself slowly start to slip away as Kyuubi gained control over him. All the promises he's made to his family and friends and to himself… The faces of his Kushina, Minato, Killerbee, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Yamato flashed in his mind as he realized he was going against all their hard work to protect him from Kyuubi's influence. He involuntarily let out a low growl as Kyuubi grew excited at the chance of letting loose.

"What's the matter, Naruto?" Sasuke egged him on in a taunting voice, "I thought you were going to kill me?" he added, daring Naruto to attack, as they both remembered Gaara had done years ago.

Naruto's scream tore through the night, and the air around him lashed out in all directions, violently pushing Sasuke, Gaara, and Sakura away from the area. Sasuke dug his blade into the ground and also focused his chakra to his feet, so he managed to hold his ground, but Gaara and Sakura were lifted up and smashed into the wall of a building, and the painful impact snapped Gaara awake.

Within mere moments, a four-tailed form of Kyuubi towered over Sasuke. A few years ago, it may have been more tails, but the fourth Hokage's recently renewed seal on Naruto was still in partial effect, which made it harder for Kyuubi to posses him.

Kyuubi roared fiercely, and the wind pushed Sasuke back again, nearly knocking him over. Gaara pulled a still unconscious Sakura to a sitting position. He leaned her face into his chest and wrapped his arms around her to protect her from the strong winds and Kyuubi's chakra, which continued to tear at the both of them, burning their skin.

By then, Naruto's Kyuubi form had five tails, and it was attacking Sasuke with a clear killing intent, using Naruto's rage as fuel. Sasuke put up a good fight, but Kyuubi's form continued to grow stronger, and it eventually reached seven tails, which left Naruto with no control over his actions, and left the Kyuubi attacking everything in sight.

Gaara stayed right where he was, and he braced himself against the frequent explosions in the fight. He could feel the wind tearing at his face, but he was afraid to shut his eyes for too long, since the Kyuubi was fast and unpredictable. Part of him wanted to go over and help, but then he realized what the best "help" he could give was. For Naruto's sake, he couldn't let Sakura get hurt any further, even if it killed him.

Gaara figured that staying still was the best idea for him and Sakura, since they both needed rest. He also didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to the two of them, considering Naruto had lost control over his actions, and Sasuke was also more than willing to kill them. So he sat helplessly, watching the two ex-best friends fight. This sit-and-wait plan worked out well at first, or at least until the Kyuubi knocked Sasuke down and far away. It spun around suddenly, growing bored of fighting him. Without much warning or hesitation, it found a new target and lunged to attack. Unfortunately, that new target was Sakura.


	3. Chapter 3: Danger

AN: The GaaSaku in this chapter was mostly unintentional. So either I'm sorry or you're welcome. haha

Chapter 3  
>Danger<p>

There was hardly any time for him to react; the reddish-orange beast spun around and lunged at them without hesitation. Gaara scooped an unconscious Sakura up in his arms and jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding being hit by one of the tails. But the rush of air it caused from crashing into the wall threw the two ninja to the ground.

Before Gaara even had the chance to recompose himself, the Kyuubi attacked again. He tried to get Sakura and himself out of there, but his body refused to cooperate. He collapsed to his knees; he was still completely exhausted from all the damage he had already taken. His vision started to go in and out.

Gaara's sand couldn't completely protect the two of them – especially since he didn't have his gourd with him – but it managed to slow down the Kyuubi's multiple tails enough so that the attacks weren't fatal. Gaara turned his back to the Kyuubi and positioned himself between it and Sakura, taking most of the damage. He winced in pain as he was struck by one of Kyuubi's paws, and its claws tore off the back of the left sleeve of his jacket, taking some of his skin with it. He couldn't move; the pain was so intense.

"Sakura…" he spat out in pain. He shook her shoulders gently, "Please wake up…"

Sakura's eyes slowly opened, "Gaara-kun? What…" She was alarmed to see him drenched in blood again, after she had healed him up not long ago. She just wished that it had all been a bad dream, and that she was waking up in her own bed back at home.

"Sakura… You need to get out of here… Get to safety…" Gaara practically pleaded, "Please… You need to run away-" he yelled in pain suddenly as Kyuubi sank its claws into his back. It lifted him off the ground and threw him to the side.

By then Sakura was fully awake and aware of the miserable situation, and her eyes started to water, and her lower lip trembled, "Naruto…" she murmured, gazing at the monster in front of her.

As Gaara started to sit up and recover, one of the Kyuubi's tails wrapped tightly around his ribcage and lifted him off the ground. It squeezed him tighter and tighter, until he couldn't breathe. He cringed from the burning pain caused by the fox's chakra.

"Gaara-kun!" Sakura called out with worry, "N-Naruto! Naruto! If you can hear me, stop! Please stop! You're hurting him! Naruto-"

The Kyuubi suddenly spun around to face Sakura, who completely froze up in fear from the look in its eyes. She screamed in both fear and pain as one of the fox's other tails smacked her away. She traveled pretty far before she smashed into a tree and fell completely still.

Meanwhile, the Kyuubi's other tail continued to squeeze Gaara even tighter. His body made these strange cracking sounds, and it took him a moment to realize that it was probably the sound of his bones fracturing, "Naruto…" he mouthed, unable to get any real sound out of his throat.

Sasuke suddenly attacked the Kyuubi, and in response it turned to fight him. Its tail released Gaara, who fell face first on the ground and remained motionless.

From nearby in the village, Sai, Tenten, Lee, and Ino had heard all the commotion and decided to see what exactly was going on. Telling Tenten and Ino to stay back, Lee and Sai ran over to help Sakura.

Lee carefully brought her to a sitting position, "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" he asked as she came to.

"I… Yeah… I think so…" Sakura murmured with a dazed look in her eyes. A little bit of blood dripped from her mouth and down her chin. Lee leaned her into his chest to support her better, "Thank you…" she murmured, gently closing her eyes.

"Who do you think did this to her?" Lee asked Sai, frowning. They both looked around and soon saw the fight raging between the Kyuubi and Sasuke.

"Naruto…" Sai murmured, remembering how he'd seen the Kyuubi's form a couple of times before. Lee hadn't, and he shifted uncomfortably. He remembered how Naruto had said he'd had control of the first half of the Kyuubi, but that the newer half he received hadn't been as cooperative. Sai knew that the Kyuubi rampaging wasn't the same as the Kyuubi Naruto affectionately called "Kurama," even though the two halves shared the same name.

"Hey…" Sakura murmured, trying to get their attention, but still being too weak to move.

"What is it?" Lee asked worriedly.

"Is… Is Gaara-kun all right, too?" Sakura asked, keeping her eyes closed.

"Gaara-kun?" Lee repeated, and he tilted his head to the side in puzzlement.

"He's… He's hurt…" Sakura said, too tired to clarify any more than that.

Sai stood up, "Stay here," he said to Lee as he started to look for Gaara. He had to be careful, because as he got closer to the area of the fight, he could already feel the strong blasts and the Kyuubi's chakra tearing at his uncovered skin. He knew he was getting dangerously close when the air currents threatened to knock him over, but just as he was about to turn back, he saw Gaara's mangled body lying on the ground.

Sai dashed over to him, barely getting him out of there before an explosion hit nearby, almost sending both of them flying. He paused for a moment and tried to wake Gaara up, but he was completely unresponsive.

"Sai-kun! You're too close!" Tenten called out to him.

"Get out of there!" Ino added with concern, and just as Sai tried to move, the Kyuubi lunged towards him. He threw Gaara over his right shoulder and managed to dart out of the way just in time.

He brought Gaara over to Sakura, saving him from getting caught in the crossfire between Sasuke and the Kyuubi. Ino and Tenten joined them, and Sakura checked Gaara's pulse; he was still barely hanging on. There was a collective sigh of relief.

Lee tried to gently wake Gaara up, but he was out cold. Sai went to try again, but Sakura stopped him by grabbing his wrist, "Don't…" she mumbled, "Let him rest… He's… Been through so much already…" she added, remembering how Gaara had risked his life to protect her, even though he was already severely injured. Even though deep down Sakura knew that Gaara had probably protected her more for Naruto's sake than hers, she still felt a closer bond with him than before.

Lee bit his lower lip, seeing the pain in Sakura's eyes. He wished he could have been there earlier to protect her.

Sakura absently started fiddling with Gaara's bangs as she matched her breaths to his strained breathing. She blinked tears from her eyes and stared at Gaara's forehead, trying to distract herself from Naruto and Sasuke's fight. She couldn't bear to think about what would happen if she lost either of them.

"Sakura…" Ino murmured, seeing the distressed expression on her face. Ino and Tenten felt upset, but they could hardly imagine how Sakura was feeling, being Naruto and Sasuke were both her teammates and close friends.

Sai kept a focused watch on the Kyuubi's distance from them. Ino and Tenten gasped as the attacks and the strong winds from the fight started to affect them, and get much closer, "We should move further away," Sai suggested calmly.

"Are… You okay to move?" Lee asked Sakura. She nodded solemnly.

But before she could even start to move, Gaara stirred. He groaned softly and slowly opened his eyes about halfway. He tried to sit up and fell back down, cringing in pain.

"Don't try to move yet," Tenten warned gently.

"Are you all right, Gaara-kun?" Lee asked, overlapping Tenten's words.

"If he said 'yes,' he'd definitely be lying," Tenten responded, laughing nervously.

"I'm surprised you're still alive," Ino directed at Gaara, "Really relieved, of course, but surprised," she corrected.

Gaara stayed silent; he was too tired to say anything. Sai watched Kyuubi nervously, knowing that there wasn't much time left for the group to get out of there.

"I was worried…" Sakura murmured, and Gaara was the only one who could hear her clearly, "You've lost so much blood…" she added, remembering how Gaara had reopened his wounds. She suddenly felt guilty for not healing him again after he'd gotten so hurt protecting her. But she realized she didn't have the energy, anyway. She started fidgeting with Gaara's hair again without realizing it, but he didn't respond in any way. He was too drained to care.

Ino started to try and heal Gaara since Sakura was too exhausted to do it herself. Ino didn't pride herself on being a great medic, but she knew she was better than nothing. She directed a confused look in Sakura's direction, wondering if the two of them had something more than just an awkward friendship going on between them. Lee turned away, not wanting anyone to notice his jealousy at a time like this.

The Kyuubi roared ferociously, destroying everything in its path. It created a large clearing where trees and a couple of houses had once been, and Sakura could only hope that no innocent bystanders had gotten hurt.

The Kyuubi continued to get closer and knocked down more trees. The winds caused by it caught the group by surprise, almost knocking them over.

"Yeah… We're still way too close," Tenten murmured, nodding at Sai, who had already wanted them to move a while ago.

Sai took Gaara's arm and slung it over his shoulders, and then wrapped his other arm around Gaara's waist. Lee did the same, supporting Gaara's other side. This way, Gaara didn't have to hold up much of his own weight.

"Is this okay?" Lee asked.

"Yeah… I'm sorry…" Gaara mumbled weakly. He bit his lip; he still hated needing other people's help, but in this case he really couldn't help it.

"No, it's fine," Lee and Sai said almost simultaneously.

They started to move, but Gaara suddenly dug his foot into the ground to stop Lee and Sai.

"What's wrong-?" Lee started. He and Sai followed Gaara's gaze to see that Sakura had frozen in place with a horrified expression on her face.

"Sakura-chan?" Lee started, "Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" He turned his head to see what she was looking at. In the clearing, Sasuke laid face-down on the ground, and he was covered in blood.

"Sasuke…" Sakura murmured, and it looked like she was about to start crying. She started to take short and strained breaths.

Sai almost looked a little angry, "Sasuke? How can you be so worried about him after what he-?"

In the time that they had been talking, the Kyuubi had abandoned Sasuke's lifeless-looking body, finding no entertainment or challenge from him anymore. Instead it chose to go after the group of six who hadn't had the chance to move out of the way yet.

Sakura and Ino squeaked in surprise, and they and Tenten managed to jump out of the way just in time. Sai and Lee on the other hand didn't react fast enough, but Gaara's sand slowed the Kyuubi down just enough for the three of them to get out of there before being hit.

When they landed, Gaara faltered, and Lee and Sai both made sure they had a good hold on him, "Are you all right?" Sai asked when they were safer.

"I'm just… Still losing a lot of blood…" Gaara choked out, short of breath. Sai and Lee looked at Gaara nervously. They didn't know how long he would be able to last at this rate, and were reminded of how amazing it was for Gaara to even be alive and awake.

Sakura let out a blood-curdling scream as the Kyuubi's tail snatched her off the ground and started crushing her in its grip. Ino and Tenten yelled as they were both brutally swept away by Kyuubi's other tails, "Naruto!" Sakura screamed, and tears ran down her face, "Stop! Please, Naruto! Stop it!"

The beast froze for a moment, as if it were actually considering this idea. One of its tails faded away, and it threw Sakura hard to the ground. She was awake, but she had been hurt to the point of immobilization by the impact. Lee didn't hesitate in running over to get to her. He lifted her up in his arms and moved away slightly.

But Sakura had seen what was happening to the Kyuubi, and how Naruto must be fighting back underneath. She knew what she had to do. She continued to plead with him, and one by one, the tails started to slowly disappear. Soon the outline of Naruto's figure could be seen, and his skin and clothes were slowly starting to show. Finally conscious, he started screaming in intense pain from trying to restrain the tailed beast's chakra. It was a battle for control, and the Kyuubi wasn't about to let it go so easily; this he knew from plenty of previous experiences.

By this time, there were quite a few spectators from Konoha. Some of them were murmuring nervously about how they "knew this was coming" because he was a jinchuuriki, while others – particularly the younger ones – were shouting and trying to send their hero some encouragement.

But Naruto was in so much pain and was screaming so loudly that he couldn't hear them. He started to falter, and his skin started to get covered in the redness of the Kyuubi again.

Sai and the others hesitated with fear, and it was enough for Gaara to manage to slip away from them. He slowly and cautiously limped over to Naruto, being careful not to agitate him.

"Be careful," Sakura murmured worriedly when she finally noticed. She didn't try to stop him, because she knew he wouldn't. Gaara nodded and knelt beside Naruto, who was also on his knees, bent forward clutching his head and crying out in pain. Gaara tried his best to ignore the burning pain from Kyuubi's chakra ripping his skin.

Lee walked too quickly over to Gaara and Naruto, and one of Kyuubi's remaining tails smacked him away, almost taking Gaara down with him.

"Lee!" Sakura cried out in concern, and she and Sai ran over to help him.

Naruto screamed out in pain again, and Gaara gently held Naruto's burning hands in his own, "It's going to be okay …" Gaara murmured weakly. But Naruto yelled in pain again and thrashed about, trying to yank away from him. Gaara cringed; he felt a sharp pain on his back as one of the tails hit him where he was already injured. He hesitated, but then he pulled Naruto into a tight embrace, "Please Naruto…"

Naruto started sobbing uncontrollably, and he pressed his face into Gaara's chest, letting out multiple curse words, "It won't go away…" he mumbled weakly, and Gaara knew that Naruto was referring to the demon fox, "It's never…. Been this bad… I swear…"

Gaara pulled back slightly and squeezed Naruto's shoulders. The blonde's condition slowly and painfully started to improve, until his skin and clothes became completely visible, and only two of the Kyuubi's tails were left. The others all watched helplessly.

Naruto managed to calm down, but his breathing was still strained, "It's okay…" Gaara mumbled, and he was trying to sound encouraging even though he felt like he was going to pass out.

The remaining two tails disappeared, and Naruto groaned and collapsed into Gaara arms, seemingly unscathed, but completely exhausted. Gaara tried to stay conscious, but it was no use; he knew Naruto was going to be okay, so he couldn't find a reason to keep fighting. He fell backwards, with Naruto landing partly on top of him.

Sai, Sakura, Tenten, Ino, and Lee rushed over to Naruto's unconscious body, "Naruto's going to be all right," Sai murmured, and the others let out a sigh of relief.

"What about-" Lee started, but Sakura and Ino had already started trying to help Gaara. They noticed how cold and pale he was, and that he was trembling slightly. His breaths were rapid, short, and strained gasps.

"Gaara… I really need you to wake up…" Sakura murmured, "You can't fall asleep yet, okay?" she continued. She had thought it was okay for him to rest before, but seeing him like this made her worried that he would slip away while in sleep. She remembered about how he had lost way too much blood, and that he had smacked the back of his head a few times during the fights.

But Gaara remained unresponsive, "We have to hurry," Sakura said in a panicked tone.

Sai glanced over at Sasuke, who was still out cold. He looked at Lee, "The two of us can't carry all three of them, especially when they've got possible head injuries," he said, and everyone frowned.

Two figures emerged from the crowd that was surrounding them, "Let me take Gaara," a voice said solemnly.

"Kankuro-san?" Sakura questioned when she spun around and saw him and Temari standing there with guilty and hurt expressions. Kankuro stepped forward and picked Gaara up, cradling him in his arms and making sure to carefully support the back of Gaara's head.

"Please be careful," Sakura murmured, worried about moving him when he was that injured.

Kankuro nodded, and Sakura bit her lip as she saw the pain in his and Temari's eyes.

"Let's go then," Sai said. Naruto, Gaara, and Sasuke were quickly brought to the hospital, where the group desperately hoped that they weren't too late.


	4. Chapter 4: Bad News

Chapter 4  
>Bad News<p>

A little over a day later, Naruto woke up in an uncomfortable hospital bed feeling disoriented. After a long moment of letting his eyes adjust to the light, he sat up and looked around anxiously, "Where…? Where am I? What the hell happened?" He saw Sai, Lee, Tenten, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, and Ino standing and sitting all around him. Despite the nurses' protests, they had crammed themselves in the room all at once, instead of taking turns.

"You're… You're hurt…" Naruto commented solemnly when he saw that some of them were wearing bandages. His expression suddenly turned dark, "Did… Sasuke do that to you?"

Everyone tensed; they realized that Naruto had no memory of the things he had done in his demonic state. They all knew the truth, but they didn't know how to break it to him.

"Actually… No…" Tenten murmured, and Lee, Hinata, and Sakura shot her nervous glances.

"Tenten…" Sakura warned softly.

"No… He needs to know," she said, frowning, "We shouldn't put it off."

"I 'need to know' what?" Naruto probed in a panicked voice, "What happened?"

"You… lost control of yourself," Sai murmured, "And the Kyuubi took over… You ended up hurting everyone pretty badly…"

The tension in the room grew thicker, "Wait… No…" Naruto whispered, and he started to tear up, "No way…" He paused for a moment as it sunk in, "I'm… I'm so sorry…" he murmured, "Is… Is everyone okay, though?"

He was answered with complete silence, which made him anxious. He cursed under his breath, realizing that something must have happened.

"I'm sorry…" Tenten murmured, "I shouldn't have said anything yet."

"What happened?" Naruto wanted her to elaborate.

"Naruto…" Sakura mumbled with a frown.

Naruto's mind started to spiral downwards as he began going through different possible scenarios in his head. But the hesitation from his friends was what really hurt him, "It's not that hard! Just tell me what the hell happened! Who did I hurt?" another pause, "I asked you what happened! Don't act like I can't handle it! Is Sasuke all right? Why can't any of you-?"

"Sasuke's dead, Naruto."

An immediate hush fell over the room, and Sai immediately regretted speaking up.

Naruto's mouth twitched, but he couldn't find words to say. Memories of him and Sasuke flooded his mind. His mood suddenly swung again, "Fuck! Why do bad things always happen to-? Ugh!" He threw his hands over his face to cover his increasing anguish.

Sakura had just recovered from crying over Sasuke, and seeing Naruto so upset caused her to break down again. She threw her arms around him and started sobbing uncontrollably, and Naruto tried his best to hold himself together, but the others could hear his choked and panicked breaths.

After a few emotional moments, there were two light knocks on the door. Kiba opened it, and in the doorway stood Shikamaru and Temari. They walked cautiously into the room.

"Oh, he's awake?" Temari asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

Naruto had a grave expression on his face and was staring intently at the floor, so Shikamaru knew that Naruto must be thinking a lot harder than usual; he knew it was best not to talk to him yet, "You told him, huh?" he asked Sai, who nodded, "But how was he before that?"

"It seemed like he was doing fine, physically."

"That's good at least."

"How's Gaara-kun doing?" Lee asked Shikamaru. As he did, Naruto instantly looked up with interest. As sad as he was for Sasuke, he still cared about Gaara, too.

"He still hasn't woken up yet," Shikamaru murmured. Temari reached for his hand and squeezed it.

"I need to see him," Naruto declared. His expression was filled with determination, even through his glossy and reddened eyes, which had become swollen from holding back tears for so long. He swung his legs over the side of the bed to stand up, "_Now_," he clarified as he started to walk towards the door.

"I won't try to stop you," Shikamaru said blankly, "Because I know you won't listen, anyways," he added under his breath.

"Is Kankuro-san already with him?" Tenten asked.

"He's… He's been with him the whole time," Temari murmured, looking a little guilty.

"I'm not surprised," Naruto mumbled solemnly. He remembered how desperate Kankuro was when Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki and how they had both carried him home. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest.

When Naruto, Shikamaru, and Temari arrived, Kankuro only looked at them for a moment before returning his gaze to Gaara. But that moment was enough for Naruto to see the dark bags under his eyes, his unusually pale skin, and the drained look on his face. Naruto couldn't help but notice the sudden resemblance between the brothers.

"Jeez, you don't look so good," Naruto commented with the slightest hint of a smile.

Kankuro shot a glare in his direction, "Oh, and I'm glad to see that you're feeling just fine, even after everything you did."

Naruto cringed; he didn't need to be reminded.

"Anything yet?" Temari asked, trying to change the subject quickly.

"I thought I saw him stirring earlier; he almost looked like he was going to wake up, but then he didn't. I'm starting to think that maybe it was just my imagination…" Kankuro said. He let out a disappointed sigh.

Naruto sat down in the available chair to Gaara's left. He took a long hard look at his friend. Almost his entire body was under blankets, except for his head, neck, and a little of his shoulders. But through the thin blankets he could see the bumps of bandages and casts. Even though he was unconscious, Naruto could see the pain in Gaara's face.

"I'm so sorry…" he murmured to Gaara, even though he was pretty sure his voice wasn't heard. The tears came back and flooded down his cheeks, "I'm so sorry…" he repeated.

"'Sorry' won't change anything, will it?" Kankuro muttered with an icy tone to his voice.

"Huh-?"

Temari pulled Naruto aside before he could come up with a rude response for Kankuro.

"What the hell? I didn't even do anything to him-"

"He's just really upset about all this. Please be patient with him."

"So am I! Does anyone ever consider that? Gaara's one of my closest friends! And I know that Gaara's his brother and all, but he doesn't need to be such a jerk to me-"

Temari looked defensive and angry, but she barely managed to control her temper, "You need to remember that this is mainly your fault, Uzumaki," she poked him in the chest, "Gaara got in that fight in the first place because of you… Because you meant so much to him… And what did you do? I heard that you had the audacity to take Sasuke's side and call Gaara out, when he hadn't even done anything wrong… And if that didn't hurt him enough, you just stood there and watched that traitorous asshole pummel him… You didn't even try to help him…"

Naruto tried to cut in to tell his side of the story, but she wouldn't let him; she was beyond sympathy for him, "No! You abandoned him when he had been there for you… And when he needed you most… And..." she was going to say something more that would have "crossed the line," but she thought of how Gaara wouldn't want her to and changed her mind, "Trust me when I say Kankuro's not too happy with you right now, and I'm not either," It took all the strength she had to take a deep breath and walk away from him before she did something to get her kicked out of the hospital.

Naruto froze in a state of shock; he hadn't expected all that hatred to come flooding out of her like that. He couldn't find anything to say other than "I'm sorry." And for the next couple of hours, that was the limit of his vocabulary. People walked in and out of the room, but Naruto and Kankuro remained pretty consistent in staying by Gaara's bedside. They had an unspoken agreement not to interact with each other, so they managed not to piss each other off.

Two medics eventually walked into the room, "We're going to have to ask you two to leave for a while; I apologize," one of them said. Kankuro and Naruto reluctantly left the room, stealing a few last glances at Gaara before the medics shut the door behind them.

"You should rest," Naruto murmured to Kankuro when they made it to the waiting room. In the bright light, Naruto could really see how sickly Kankuro appeared.

"I'm fine," Kankuro muttered back with a scowl on his face.

But soon enough, Kankuro had fallen asleep in his chair. Naruto couldn't help but find humor in the way that Kankuro's body was contorted to be able to sleep in the chair. He knew that the brunette was going to wake up with a lot of aches and pains.

The medics walked into the waiting room about two hours later, where only Naruto and an unconscious Kankuro remained; everyone else had gone home for the time being.

Naruto's whole body tensed at the sight of them; part of him wanted to wake Kankuro up, but he knew that the older boy needed the rest while there was still a chance.

"What is it?" Naruto asked worriedly, and he was a little afraid of the answer.

"Is he awake?" Naruto prodded. He felt his heart start to race.

"Yes… And that's why we came out here… Because he-"

Naruto couldn't take the medic's hesitation, "What? What is it-?"

"He keeps asking for you."


	5. Chapter 5: Worthless Apologies

Chapter 5  
>Worthless Apologies<p>

He didn't need to be told twice. Naruto quickly brought himself to his feet, almost falling over from moving too fast, "Can I see him, then?" he asked with a crack in his voice, trying to keep calm. It wasn't working; the doctor gave him a condescending look.

"Of course… We were about to ask you to, for his sake."

Naruto anxiously followed the medics; Gaara had been moved into a different room during the three hours that Naruto hadn't been allowed to see him. It was extremely bright; Naruto had to narrow his eyes to adjust to it. The medics exited the room and gently shut the door behind him.

Naruto approached the bed where Gaara laid. His skin was a blinding white color, especially under the bright lights. Naruto had always known Gaara to be pretty pale, but this had taken it to a whole new level; he looked _translucent_, which made the dark rings around his eyes stand out even more than they usually did.

The moment Gaara saw Naruto walk in, his eyes lit up a little. He turned his head to face him, "Naruto… Are you okay?" the redhead asked in a strained voice.

Naruto cracked out a single nervous "ha" that he hadn't meant to let go of. He stood to Gaara's right, "Gaara, you're at death's door, and you're asking me if _I'm_ okay?"

"Yes…" Gaara said blankly, narrowing his eyes, "And you didn't… Answer me yet…"

Naruto paused for a moment, actually thinking it over; he felt his heart sink, "I'm… I'm fine, Gaara."

"No… You're not… You hesitated," Gaara stated, seeing Naruto's hopeless expression.

Naruto wondered whether it was a good idea to bring it up, "It's… Sasuke… He… He's…" Naruto bit his bottom lip, unable to actually say it aloud. Gaara nodded solemnly, getting the message, "I'm sorry…"

Naruto put his hand on top of Gaara's, and the latter tried hard not to flinch from the burn there; he didn't want to hurt Naruto's feelings any further by letting him know how much pain he was in, "No… No, I'm the one who's sorry, Gaara… I've been so worried about you… I'm… I'm so sorry I hurt you-"

"It's… All right, Naruto… I know… You didn't mean it…" Gaara cut in, choosing his words carefully. He moved his hand to hold Naruto's, and he was thankful that it didn't hurt that bad.

"But that doesn't stop me from feeling awful about it…" Naruto eyes were glassy, but he wasn't afraid to keep eye contact because he figured that Gaara wasn't like some of his other friends; he wasn't the type to make him getting emotional.

Gaara just looked as sympathetic as he could manage. He hated trying to hold conversation while lying down, so he struggled to move to a sitting position, "Are Sakura and the others…? Are they all okay?"

"Yeah… They're all fine…" Naruto answered, wiping away the welled-up tears in the corners of his eyes, "Mostly thanks to _you_…" he continued, shaking his head in mock disapproval.

Gaara smiled lightly, but then he cringed from sudden pain. He fell backwards, and he smacked his back against the pillows with a soft thud. Naruto leaned over the edge of the bed with a panicked expression, "Gaara! Oh shit- Gaara, are you okay?"

"Not enough… To be sitting up… Apparently…" Gaara murmured, smiling weakly.

Gaara had obviously been trying to lighten the mood, but Naruto wasn't amused, "Please… Be more careful, okay?" He sat on the edge of the bed and heaved a huge sigh.

"You're hurting… Way more than I am…" Gaara commented solemnly, gently taking his hand again.

"What do you mean? Gaara, you're-"

"Emotional pain hurts much worse than physical pain."

Naruto showed a defeated expression, and he tightly squeezed Gaara's hand, to the point where Gaara subtly put a hand over his mouth to hide the pain that was entering his expression, "I just… I miss him so much… You know?" Naruto said, "And… I feel so awful for letting him do that to you…"

"Don't... It's fine, Naruto… I didn't expect help from you…"

It took the shocked and hurt expression on Naruto's face for Gaara to realize what he had just implied, "Oh, no… Wait… Naruto, I-"

"No. I get it, Gaara," Naruto said in an icy tone. Naruto yanked away from Gaara's grip, and the latter looked really hurt, "I'm just glad you didn't censor what you were really thinking… Now I truly know-"

"But that's not what I-"

"Just forget it, Gaara. I get it. I'm not stupid, you know," Naruto cut him off, looking hurt.

"I just meant that… I didn't expect you to go against someone like Sasuke… I… I know that you cared about him… more than _anything_…" Gaara mumbled with a tinge of jealousy in his voice, "I was just relieved that you didn't take his side against me…" he paused and frowned, remembering, "Well… Not for _long_, at least. That… That hurt me more than anything he could have ever done to me…"

Naruto remembered how he had lashed out at Gaara in Sasuke's defense, "I'm… I'm sorry for that… But why would you assume that I'd do something like that in the first place? When you said you didn't expect me to help you out…" When Gaara merely frowned and didn't answer, Naruto continued, "You always expect the worst, Gaara," he rudely teased.

Gaara didn't find it amusing, "Well… It's usually what I get," he retorted with cold undertones to his voice. Naruto couldn't find a response to defend himself with so he just bit his lip and looked away, ashamed. He did exactly what Gaara had expected of him. He let him down.

Gaara sighed as he realized he'd hurt Naruto's feelings. It seemed to always end like this. He opened his mouth to try and mend his previous statement, but his siblings suddenly entered the room wearing panicked and worried expressions. Since Naruto blocked Gaara's right, they both moved to his left.

Kankuro pouted and turned to Naruto, "Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked angrily.

Naruto didn't say anything. He was busy looking at the floor with a hurt expression. Gaara was really good at saying just the right thing to really hurt him, whether it was purposeful or not. And it usually wasn't anything like a direct insult; it was always one of those little comments that sunk deep inside him and plagued him for a long time. But he made himself remember that it had always worked the other way, as well. He had hurt Gaara pretty badly in the past. Plus, it was pretty hard for him to get mad at someone who has every right to be disappointed in him.

"How are you feeling?" Kankuro asked Gaara loudly, leaning close.

"There's… nothing wrong with my hearing, Kankuro…" Gaara muttered, and Kankuro's face turned bright red. Temari laughed, but Naruto remained motionless.

Gaara forced himself to sit up again, with the help of his older brother. His eyes kept falling to Naruto, who refused to look at him. He bit his lip with guilt, not knowing what to say to make his friend feel better.

"How's the pain?" Temari asked. She cupped his bandaged cheek in a loving way that Gaara obviously wasn't used to; he suddenly looked very uncomfortable until she finally moved her hand away, "And be honest," she added, "We want to help you."

"Well… I don't quite know how… to describe it…" he braced himself in pain; sitting up was again proving to be too much for his body. Temari noticed and picked up some of the extra pillows from the other side of the room. She propped the pillows behind Gaara's back to support him, "Thank you," he murmured, and Temari smiled warmly.

"They say I'll be here at least for another week," Gaara stated flatly.

Temari and Kankuro both shot frustrated expressions in Naruto's direction, but he still had his head down and couldn't see it, "I'm sorry…" Naruto murmured for about the thirtieth time that day.

"It could have been a lot worse though," Gaara reassured Naruto, "And I'll be fine…" but the blonde obviously wasn't listening anymore. He was clawing at the cloth on his knees with his shoulders up to his ears.

Gaara frowned. He leaned over and reached out to take Naruto's hand again, "Naruto, it's okay, I-"

Naruto suddenly stood up, smacking Gaara's hand away, "Stop it, just stop," he said, still not making eye contact. He briskly left the room, ignoring Gaara's plea for him to come back.


	6. Chapter 6: Betrayal

Chapter 6

Betrayal

Naruto raced down the hallway, tears streaking his cheeks. Nurses yelled at him to slow down, but all he could hear was his pounding footsteps, his ragged breathing, and his heart, which thudded loudly in his ears. He didn't slow down until he rattled his keys and burst through the door to his apartment. He locked the door behind him and threw himself against the door, finally succumbing to the sobs that had threatened to show themselves back at the hospital. His back slid down the door and he sank to the floor, hugging his knees. He had become everything he had promised himself he would never become. There was no escaping what he had done, whether it was an accident or not.

"I killed Sasuke…. I…. I killed my best friend…" Naruto choked. He could feel his entire body shaking, "I almost killed Gaara, too… And… And… I betrayed his trust in me…" Naruto's breaths became louder, and his words developed a heavy rasp, "Sakura-chan… All my friends… They'll never look at me the same way again… They'll say that they forgive me but I know they'll never… Trust me again…" Naruto threw his head back against the door, "I've ruined everything," he wheezed, and his vision started to blur, "I'm sorry," Naruto sobbed. He tried to breathe slower, like Kakashi had taught him to do in times of panic, but he couldn't bear it. He lurched sideways and crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

…..

Naruto awoke to the sounds of light knocking at his door. He slowly pulled himself to a sitting position, not fully remembering how he'd gotten there. There was another set of knocks, "Naruto?" a voice called, "Are you home?"

Naruto pulled himself to his feet and looked through the door's peephole. Standing at the door was Gaara, wrapped in a hospital sheet. Naruto yanked the door open, "What are you doing here?" he asked in a loud whisper, "You shouldn't be-"

"I know," Gaara interrupted, "I needed to see if you were okay," he murmured. He was putting on a tough act, but Naruto could see that he was really hurting. He quickly wrapped an arm around Gaara and led him inside, afraid that he could fall at any moment.

Naruto sat Gaara down on his bed and then sat on his right, "Wait… How did you get out?"

"I'm a shinobi," Gaara responded with a weak smile. When Naruto didn't bite, he added, "I waited until Kankuro fell asleep."

Naruto looked at the clock for the first time since waking up. It was 3 a.m. He'd slept the rest of the day away.

"I used a replacement technique. Most of the nurses probably won't be able to tell the difference, so I basically have until Kankuro wakes up," Gaara explained, "This'll probably be the first place he checks."

"Yeah," Naruto mumbled, remembering how protective Kankuro is of his little brother. His face darkened, remembering the fight he'd gotten in with him in the hospital.

"I'm sorry if they were rude to you before," Gaara said softly, guessing what Naruto was thinking.

"No, it's okay… I'd be the same way," Naruto confessed, "I'm really angry as it is… I can't believe I let this happen… I'm so sorry, Gaara."

Naruto's chest ached as the feelings came rushing back to him. But Gaara pulled him back to reality, gently grabbing his hand with both of his own, "I forgive you, Naruto," he soothed.

"You shouldn't," Naruto hissed.

"You shouldn't have forgiven me either, back then, but you did. You saw past everything I had done and accepted me."

"Gaara…"

"I could never hold a grudge against you, Naruto," when Naruto didn't answer, Gaara continued, "You're very special to me. Please don't ever forget that… I'm so fortunate that I have you as a friend."

Naruto paused, trying to take it all in. But before he could respond, there was an angry-sounding knock at the door. Naruto shifted to stand, but Gaara put a hand on his leg, "It's probably Kankuro," he said, and Naruto didn't need an explanation. He knew Kankuro would yell at him right away if he answered the door, but Gaara might be able to calmly talk him down.

Gaara unlocked and opened the door, and it wasn't Kankuro he came face to face with. Four Konoha jounin and two anbu members stood at attention, and the one furthest front spoke, "K-Kazekage-sama," he stammered, obviously not expecting the young Kage to be answering the door, "We're here for Uzumaki Naruto," he stated when he had regained his composure.

Naruto grabbed Gaara's shoulder and pivoted him so he could see through the doorway, "What's going on?" he asked nervously.

"We've been asked to take you into custody," the jounin clarified. He reached out to grab Naruto, but Gaara stepped in the way, "Why?" Gaara asked, but it was more of a demand than a question.

"The Hokage and council of elders have deemed him unsafe to the other members of this village. We are to take him somewhere where he can't hurt anyone."

"And where's that?" Gaara probed, getting increasingly tense.

"I'm sorry, Kazekage-sama, but we can't disclose that information to you. Now if you'll please-"

The jounin had reached out for Naruto again but sand wrapped around his wrist. He didn't seem phased though, and spoke calmly, "I suggest you come with us willingly," he appealed to Naruto.

"Is that a threat?" Gaara hissed. Naruto felt his heart race.

"We were asked to escort him, and use force if necessary. No one has to get hurt here if he turns himself in to us without a fight."

"I'm not going to let you just take him," Gaara warned, sliding into a fighting stance. Naruto stood still, too stunned to move.

"You can't take on all of us in your current condition… Either of you… This is your last warning."

"No, please don't," Naruto said, trying to control the tremors in his voice. He gently pushed Gaara to the side and stepped forward, "I'll come with you."

"Naruto-" Gaara started, eyes wide.

"I don't want any more trouble. Please, Gaara. I… Can't let you get hurt again," Naruto said, looking at Gaara's bandages, which were stained mahogany with dried blood, "Whatever happens, they're going to make sure I can't hurt anyone anymore. That's good, right?"

"Naruto, they're going to isolate you. They'll hurt you. We might never-"

"Maybe that's for the best," Naruto breathed.

"This isn't like you… You can't give up here," Gaara reasoned, struggling to keep his voice even, "Not after everything… Everything you've worked so hard for-"

"I ruined all that when I lost control of myself. You should know how it is."

"But this is the first time you've ever had a problem, right? It was a very extreme situation-"

"This wasn't the first time, Gaara. Just the first time you've known about it."

Gaara looked betrayed, "Why didn't you tell me…?"

"What was I supposed to say? And _when_? I didn't want you to worry about me… And I guess I just wanted… At least one friend who didn't know I was broken."

"You're _not broken_, Naruto," Gaara said in a low voice, "Don't you _ever_ say that."

"But hey, broken things can be fixed, right?"

Gaara raised his voice, nearly yelling, "You're not broken-"

"Please don't argue with me. This is for the best. I won't be able to hurt anyone anymore, including myself. They're going to take care of me."

"Naruto-"

"Goodbye, Gaara."

Gaara yanked Naruto backwards and glared daggers at the opposing shinobi, who raised their weapons in response, "If he won't fight you, I will!" he declared. Sand rushed at the shinobi from all directions, and the others dodged and defended, hesitant about hurting the Kazekage. The front jounin didn't have this indecision, however, and he charged headlong at Gaara.

"Gaara, stop!" Naruto begged, but Gaara wasn't listening anymore. Naruto knew what he had to do; he rushed behind Gaara and hit a pressure point in his neck, knocking him unconscious. He was surprised that he didn't have to fight with Gaara's sand, but then he realized with a pang of sadness that it probably didn't protect Gaara because it had never even crossed his mind that Naruto would ever try to hurt him. Once again, he found himself betraying Gaara's extraordinary amount of trust in him. He silently thanked Neji for teaching him that trick, even though he felt guilty for using it against a friend. The jounin stopped in his tracks, knowing that Naruto would cooperate with Gaara unable to fight.

Naruto caught Gaara as he fell, and laid him down on the mattress, "I'm sorry," he murmured one last time before leaving him behind.

….

AN: Next chapter is the last one! I've tried not to make this fic too shippy since it's more about sappy friendship and comfort but when I put my OTP alone in a room together it's very hard. You can certainly take it that way if you _want_ to, heheh.


	7. Chapter 7: Right Here

Chapter 7

Right Here

Naruto walked without too much prodding, with a blindfold over his eyes and his hands tied behind his back. When Naruto asked why they told him it was best if he didn't know where he was going.

'_I deserve this,'_ Naruto repeated to himself, _'Everyone will be safer this way,'_ he chanted, struggling to make himself believe his own thoughts. He tried to think of the situation as him sacrificing himself for the sake of the village, but those thoughts would always come accompanied by the voices of Sakura, Gaara, and his other friends, telling him how much they cared about him and didn't want to lose him, _'I'll miss Sasuke's funeral,'_ Naruto thought solemnly, holding his head down as he walked. He wondered if Sakura would say nice things about him on both of their behalves, since he was pretty sure no one else would.

"You did the right thing," one of the anbu members spoke, squeezing Naruto's shoulder. He could sense Naruto's increasing discomfort. Naruto was silent, "Are you starting to have second thoughts?"

Naruto nodded slowly in response, "That's why we restrained you," the man spoke with a smirk, "Even the bravest people still have a sense of self-preservation."

"Hey!" A voice shouted. The group came to a halt and Naruto tensed; he immediately recognized the voice as belonging to Sakura, "Where are you taking him?"

"That's none of your concern. Clear out," the man on Naruto's left commanded.

"We won't let you do this!" Another voice called, and Naruto recognized that it belonged to Tenten, _"We?"_ Naruto thought aloud.

Naruto was shoved backwards, and he let out a shout of protest, "Stay back," one of the anbu shinobi commanded. Naruto cringed as he heard the sounds of blades clashing and exploding tags igniting, "Stop!" Naruto shouted, but it was of no avail. Suddenly he felt himself being lifted in the air and carried, "Put me down!" Naruto yelled, squirming.

"I won't let you get away!" Sakura threatened as she gave chase. Naruto felt himself getting increasingly nauseous as the man carrying him was forced to dodge Sakura and Tenten's projectile attacks. He tried to speak but only a gurgle came out.

"Konoha Senpuu!" Lee shouted, and as the anbu member grunted in pain Naruto felt himself falling fast. Lee caught him and quickly undid his restraints, "Are you okay, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto could speak and instead just tried hard not to dry-heave.

"We're all here for you," Lee said proudly, "We won't let you do this to yourself."

"But-" Naruto started, but Sakura's scream interrupted him.

"Sakura-chan!" Lee and Naruto shouted simultaneously. They both ran towards the source of the noise and found Tenten standing over Sakura's unconscious body in an attempt to defend her, "She's still not feeling herself yet," Tenten explained, "But I wasn't about to try and stop her from fighting… She was the one who noticed what was happening and rallied us together to protect you."

Naruto felt his cheeks flush, "You all… Thank you…" He half-whispered, his eyes watering.

"You can get sentimental later," an exasperated-looking Shikamaru said. He and the others worked together to finish taking down the group assigned to capturing Naruto, while the blonde stood watching in awe. He heaved a sigh of relief, realizing once again just how much his friends cared for him, "I'm sorry, everyone…" he murmured with guilt.

"We're just glad you're all right," Ino said, slapping Naruto on the back.

But before Naruto could get too comfortable, he was yanked backwards by his collar and spun around, "Where the Hell is Gaara?" Kankuro demanded. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was flushed with anger.

"I…. Uh…" Naruto stammered, not quite sure of the best way to break the news to him. He hadn't even known that Kankuro and Temari were there, "Don't fuck with me!" Kankuro hissed, bringing his fist back.

"My apartment! He's asleep at my apartment!" Naruto spat out, hoping not to get punched.

The silence that followed was so thick that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone stared at Naruto incredulously, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, it wasn't like _that_!" Naruto disclaimed, his face bright red with embarrassment.

"Sure, sure," Ino teased, and she and Tenten laughed along.

Kankuro started to walk, dragging Naruto behind him, "He had better not be hurt," he warned viciously. Temari sighed and followed, not as worried but equally tired.

Naruto unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped inside, switching the light on. His eyes immediately locked with Gaara's, who was sitting on the edge of the bed glaring daggers at him.

"Do something like that again and see what happens," Gaara threatened, but Naruto knew that those words didn't have much weight. He was obviously pissed, but Naruto could see that his eyes still held a deep relief to see him again.

"I'm sorry," Naruto mumbled, and he could see Gaara's posture soften slightly. Kankuro and Temari brushed past him, sitting at each of Gaara's sides in a chorus of "are you okay?" and "what the hell were you thinking?"

"Please move for a moment," Lee directed as he walked through the doorway. Kankuro helped Gaara stand up long enough for Lee to step over the obstacles on the floor and lay Sakura down. Then Kankuro set his little brother back down despite his reluctance. If Naruto wasn't still shaking from his recent experience he probably would have been more embarrassed about the messy state of his apartment in front of all these people he wanted to keep respect from.

"So what now?" Ino sighed.

"They'll wake up soon," Sai warned, and he was referencing the anbu members and jounin they had managed to defeat earlier.

"It'll be a real pain, but we'll need to talk Tsunade-sama out of this," Shikamaru complained, "And she's most likely to listen to Sakura-chan."

Everyone glanced at Sakura, who looked a little too comfortable to be woken up. But Temari was soon shaking her by the shoulder, "She can sleep when this is over," she rasped.

Sakura began to stir and slowly brought herself to a sitting position, "What happened?"

"You were knocked unconscious," Tenten explained, "Your wounds are very minor… I think most of them were holding back against us."

"There are… not a lot of people in Konoha that would be eager to drag Naruto-kun away… especially after all he's done for the village…" Hinata murmured.

"I should hope so," Gaara mumbled.

It was nearly six a.m. by then, and the group rounded up Shino, Kiba, and Chouji before heading to the Hokage's office to wait outside of the door.

When Tsunade finally arrived - over an hour later - her eyes narrowed when she saw Naruto and the others, "You've got some nerve," she seethed. She opened the door to her office and the group followed. But before Tsunade could even speak, Sakura was already defending Naruto. She struggled to keep her voice steady so as not to rile up the temperamental Hokage any further.

Naruto watched in awe as friend after friend spoke to defend him and his actions. Even Hinata was able to find the courage to speak up for Naruto in the presence of the angry Godaime. He apparently hadn't hurt any innocent bystanders in the chaos, which helped out his case. He felt ashamed of himself for having given up so quickly when his friends were all so eager to fight for him. He felt a surge of warmth in his chest; he was truly loved by his friends and no one could ever take that away from him. Kankuro and Temari spoke up for him as well, but Naruto knew that it was mostly for Gaara's sake.

After everyone spoke their piece, Tsunade sighed loudly, "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but it wasn't exactly my decision to send Naruto out of the village in the first place," she explained, "You'll have to convince the council, too… I was severely outnumbered on this one."

Tsunade arranged a meeting with the council for that afternoon, and Naruto's friends had almost the exact same argument as before, only this time they has Tsunade on their side, giving them all a big boost of confidence. Naruto stayed back, knowing that an outburst from him would only prove the council's point about his lack of self-control. He had to put his fate completely in his friends' hands, as they have done with him in the past.

"I'm so lucky…," Naruto murmured as they exited the meeting. He was let off the hook for the accident, "To have friends like you," he finished. He put his hands over his face and sighed. Sakura pulled him into an embrace, Gaara and Sai each took one of his hands, and soon Naruto found himself completely surrounded, "You guys," he uttered softly, taking in their warmth.

The next day was Sasuke's funeral, and as Naruto took his turn to speak, he froze. He had told himself that he would speak fondly of Sasuke, no matter what. And those were the words he had prepared to say that morning. But much to his surprise, he saw that Sakura had played it safe in her speech. Even the girl that loved him, both as a friend and a crush, couldn't find the strength to declare that love in front of the village he wronged. Naruto looked outwards, trying to read the expressions on everyone's faces. His eyes locked with Sakura's, and he saw that there were tears in her eyes. But there was also desperation; he realized she was pleading with him to say all the things she had wanted to say… To say all of the words that she couldn't find.

"Sasuke… Sasuke was…" Naruto started, but he struggled to continue. His eyes shifted to Lee, who locked eyes with him for a moment, then slowly nodded. And as Naruto looked to Shikamaru, Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, Tenten, Ino, Chouji, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, and Konohamaru, he received the same reactions. Nods of approval, urging him to speak his mind. He scanned the crowd one more time and settled on Gaara, who was wearing a hardened expression. Naruto desperately wanted his approval but at the same time was afraid to ask for it, as he wasn't sure if he was going to get it. After the things that Gaara said while fighting Sasuke that night, and back in the Land of Snow before the war, Naruto knew that Gaara hadn't been too appreciative of Sasuke's return.

"I…" Naruto murmured, looking down. When he looked back up, he saw that Gaara's expression had changed, "Go on," Gaara mouthed silently, nodding slightly.

Naruto took a slow deep breath, closing his eyes, "Sasuke… He was my friend… My _best_ friend," he corrected, standing up a little straighter, "_More_ than that, even… He was one of the first bonds I ever created, and definitely one of the strongest I've ever had. And for those of you that didn't have the opportunity to get to know him, he wasn't always… What I'm trying to say is, he used to be different. He was courageous, talented, smart, strong, and everyone seemed to always be drawn to him… I was pretty jealous, actually… I had wanted to be more like him. I constantly compared myself to him, pushing myself to be better. Our rivalry didn't push us apart; it actually brought us closer together. So when he left, it was like losing a part of myself. I was losing someone that really understood me. I wouldn't let go of him… I _couldn't_…"

Naruto could hear Sakura let a sob slip past her, and she immediately put a hand over her mouth, shaking with grief, "And even after everything that happened, I ran to him with open arms, jumping at the chance to have him back. And I didn't realize… I didn't want to see… That the person I brought back home with me wasn't Sasuke… I didn't kill Sasuke," Naruto declared, and it was met with a rush of mutters from the crowd. He stood patiently, waiting for them to simmer back down, "Sasuke died a long time ago, I think… What was left of him… The Sasuke that came back home… Was just a hollow shell, consumed by hatred and revenge… He was long gone… And for so long I didn't want to believe it… I refused," Naruto said, and he shot a look at Gaara, who sent back a conflicted expression, realizing that Naruto was referencing what he had said in the Land of Snow, "And… And there were times where I almost let that happen to me, too… It's so easy... So tempting… And sometimes it seems like the right thing, taking revenge in the name of something you care for… But the difference was that I never got too far gone… And I have my friends to thank for that. They saved me… We saved each other…"

Naruto had to pause, clearing a lump in his throat. His eyes scanned his friends faces and saw that most of them were overcome with emotions, "And… I wasn't able to save Sasuke… I was too late… But I think… I'm finally able to forgive myself for that… I did everything I could… And 'killing' what was left of him… That hollow shell… Maybe I was able to set him free… Maybe… He's in a better place now…"

Sakura smiled at Naruto through her tears, "Thank you," she mouthed, twice for emphasis. Naruto smiled back, "And I beg you all… Please… Don't remember Sasuke as that hollow shell… Remember him as Kakashi's student, a member of team seven… Sakura's friend… _My_ friend… He'll never be forgotten… Because… He'll always be right _here_," Naruto sad, putting his hand on his heart, "_Always_," he repeated, closing his hand into a fist and thumping it gently against his chest. He paused for a moment, feeling a great sense of pride, "Thank you," he finished as tears leaked from his eyes. As he stepped down he heard it: a single clap, which quickly grew into a respectful applause, which grew into thunderous noise, accompanied by a couple of shouts of encouragement. This was the first time Naruto had remembered anything like that happening at a funeral. Sakura walked over to him and pulled him into a tight embrace, "Naruto, you… That was wonderful… Thank you…" she whispered into his ear, still crying.

It was as if a weight had been lifted over the entire village. After a few moments, Naruto pulled away and looked up into the sky. The sun was coming out from behind the clouds, 'Wherever you are, you're not alone,' he thought, idly putting his hand back over his heart, 'I'm right here.'

Naruto closed his eyes, smiling the brightest he had in years.

…..

AN: And that's it, folks! I'm a sucker for sappy fluffy friendships, I'll admit it.


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